Xinliushi
The Xinliushi style was once the primary way of combat for the members of the Yumeranai Clan, but is now considered forbidden, the only practicer left being Sujin Yumeranai. In order for the style to be used, the Yumeranai-Clan Hidden Weapons are required. During the days in the Eastern continent, the style was honed and masters of Xinliushi were often revered as demi-gods by the other villagers. On the shinobi continent, however, the style is fairly unknown. As mentioned above, the style requires specialized weapons to use. These consists of wrist-, elbow- and knee-blades, along with a pair foot spikes. These weapons are attached to the appropriate body parts and, as the name suggested, hidden under the clothing, out of view from suspicious eyes. The weapons also have the unique side-effect to being invisible to every set of eyes, even the , due the people of the East's strange chakra composure that flows through. It's said that mastering the technique requires years of hard training, and that even then only those predestined can properly learn it. Sujin succeeded in picking up the style in only two years, without a teacher, purely through scrolls and his own imagination. Style & Abilities Xinliushi mostly revolves around quick, powerful strikes designed to take out an opponent as soon as possible. One of the key elements of the style is surprise, and the user will usually strive to catch the opponent off guard with their speed and the sudden appearance of a hidden weapon. While it seems the user throws a normal punch, he can eject a blade out of his sleeve in the middle of the attack, or even after the attack has been blocked. While it is labeled as , it sometimes more resembles , because the user can chose whether to attack normally or with a blade. In the style, all types of attacks are incorporated. Punches and kicks are alternated with various acrobatic stunts. Speed is vital, and the attacks usually follow up so swiftly the opponent doesn't have a chance to counterattack. Defending against "normal" kenjutsu is harder within this style, although masters easily extend a blade at the right time, lock his opponent's sword and use a second hidden weapon to strike him. Even though it wouldn't seem like it, Xinliushi requires a great amount of stamina and strength, along with speed. It focuses around short, rapid series of strikes with an enormous outburst of power required to lay in each strike, if one wants to attain maximized effects. These continuous assaults are able to overwhelm most enemies, but also raise a tall on the user's body. Therefore, it is preferred to suddenly reveal a weapon and kill the overwhelmed opponent in their moment of surprise. Variations There are essentially two variations within the main style, called Open and Closed Blade. *'Open Blade:' A style more suited in large-scale combat, the user doesn't bother to keep his hidden weapons "hidden", using them like small daggers. While most use a subtle variation which also carries aspects from the Closed Blade, and centers around using the wrist blades openly and extracting the others suddenly to surprise the opponent, there is also an extreme use of this. This consist of the user simply extending all of his hidden weapons and maintaining them that way. This results in a battle style similar to , and while considered crude and lower by most users, does come in handy when seriously outnumbered. *'Closed Blade:' A less "flashy" style, usually utilized in assassination or one-on-one combat. It involves around drawing and withdrawing the blades so rapidly in hand-to-hand combat that it appears like the user is using a to cut his victim. This can be used to deliver long gashes and cuts rapidly, while it looks that the user has simply stroke his hand across the affected surface. During assassination missions, this usually consists of casually touching someone (ex. to gently move him out of the way, tap on his shoulder, etc.), while ejecting and retracting the blade in a split second, leaving a large, open wound which can be fatal if performed in fatal areas. Behind the Scenes While the idea was all mine and I wrote everything myself, this helped me a lot and I deeply thank the author for that. I also drew inspiration from the Hidden Blade from the Assassin's Creed franchise.